Mattress Shopping Advice Needed

buckethat on 12/06/2025 - 22:23

So my 10 year old sealy mattress seems to be giving out. I find myself waking up with stiff neck and sore lower back more and more recently so I figure its time for an upgrade.

I've got a Queen at the moment but the missus wants some space so we're going for an upgrade to King.

Currently considering the following options.

Sleeping Duck Mach II - $1999
Koala Plus Mattress - $1990
Ecosa Pure - $1400 (on pretty steep discount right now)

Otherwise, I'm also considering Melbourne Mattress Factory, I haven't tried them yet but will head down this weekend. Not sure about pricing since theres so many models that its kind of confusing but I'm sure there'll be something that fits the budget. Would've also considered AusBed if I was in Sydney.

Anyone got experiences with any of these you could share, or what to look out for?

Home & Garden Mattress

Comments

  • Hybroid on 12/06/2025 - 22:46
    +5

    Go to a Homemaker centre and try out all the different brands. We ended up with the Silentnight Chelsea and absolutely loved it.

    https://www.bedsndreams.com.au/products/silentnight-chelsea?…

    But it doesn't matter what a thousand reviews you read say, it's ultimately your preference.

    • buckethat on 12/06/2025 - 23:07

      Yeah might do - just with the traditional big box stores with all the brands, I'm not sure I trust the sales people to actually know what they're recommending and just blowing smoke up my rear.

      • Hybroid on 12/06/2025 - 23:35

        "No, thank you, I'm just browsing" and do your own thing.

        • EightImmortals on 13/06/2025 - 07:36
          +4

          Throws missus on the bed…..

          • Nugs on 13/06/2025 - 09:49
            -1

            @EightImmortals: if you are going to call her the missus, why not refer to it correctly as the work bench…..:)
            .

      • EFC94 on 13/06/2025 - 09:22

        On the flip side (and I do agree with you about the sales people), do you know enough about mattresses to make an informed decision about whats good and/or bad? If you go on a website for one of those mattress in a box companies you'll just be bombarded by marketing about how their mattress with 6 different layers of material is so much better than the other company with 8 layer.

        If you're happy with your current mattress just try and find the same model (probably updated though) and buy that again.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 12/06/2025 - 23:02

    At least if you got bed in box most have x night trial offers. Just make sure you read all the t and c before committing.

    stiff neck

    Also maybe worth checking in with a physio - and trying a new pillow to ensure proper support.

    • buckethat on 12/06/2025 - 23:09
      +2

      Tried all different types of pillows, including those expensive Tempur ones. Turns out the best for me has been the $40 latex aldi one.

      Have gone to a physio, they've just recommended resistance band stretches which has helped.. but I reckon the bed is the culprit..

      • EightImmortals on 13/06/2025 - 07:38

        Ha, same thing here, spent a fortune on pillows and bought the $40 'Dream Science' pillow from Pillow Talk, stuffed all the extra foam in and it's been great.

  • Protractor on 12/06/2025 - 23:03
    +1

    Do you regularly flip and rotate your mattress?

    • buckethat on 12/06/2025 - 23:09

      Not nearly as often as I probably should.. I'll do that tonight.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 12/06/2025 - 23:11
        +2

        Please tell me last time was not like 9.5 years ago 😭

        • buckethat on 12/06/2025 - 23:19
          +1

          Haha you’re giving me too much credit!

          But in all seriousness.. the last time was probably over 9 months ago and prior to that.. maybe under 2 years..

          • Protractor on 13/06/2025 - 09:51

            @buckethat: Don't throw $$ and a healthy back away. Schedule the turns, even if only every 2 or 3 months.
            Monthly would be better.

  • sharkyoz on 12/06/2025 - 23:17

    i bought bed/base from Melbourne Mattress factory 3 months ago.
    Paid a grand all up ($600BED/$400 BASE) and very happy with my purchase.
    A bit stiff first week but that settled.
    Definitely worth a look.

  • ForkSnorter on 13/06/2025 - 06:59

    find myself waking up with stiff neck

    Get a thicker pillow. Stiff memory foam that doesn't sink too much.

  • RockyRaccoon on 13/06/2025 - 07:56
    +1

    Here is my experience.

    Have bought over the years in box, just foam and in store inner spring mattresses.

    First it depends on your weight. The heavier you are the more likely the mattress will sag sooner.

    In store experiences are just that. You can tell the difference between firm and soft and how that suits, BUT it really doesnt tell you how it will be after a few months. The top layer can sag and its NOT so FIRM anymore, then when you complain, they can tell you its within spec. On a $2000 plus bed thats very disappointing. This was my instore purchase experience

    I then went on the mattress in a box route. Started with a single that was in the guest room. Thats stood up well. But its used mainly by visiting kids and maybe once or twice a month. It was firm, and has remained so.

    Decided that since I was a heavier build, maybe a mid priced "in the box" mattress, in my case firm, was better and if it lasts say 3-4 years I can afford to replace it rather than buy a top of line mattress and hold on to it for 10 years.

    For me this has worked, my current in the box has gone 2 years and is still quite firm. 3-4 months rotation.

    I originally purchased an Emma, and that started to sag. Was that within spec? In dont know, but it didnt feel as firm and I got concerned it may get worse. So within the refund period, I took the refund offered. All good. I then ordered the OneBed, which had similar guarantee. Thats the "one" I am using now.

    Note - while Emma had some quirky refund requirements and didnt suit me, I was satisfied with their guarantee. I felt they were reputable to deal with. Have recommended people consider their mattress and a friend is happy with theirs.

    I cant verify OneBeds guarantee as I havent needed it, but very happy with the product, no sore backs.

    So in summary. Pay more for a longer term, or less for a shorter term. In the future you'll know which was the better. or will you?

    • Karl from ausbeds on 13/06/2025 - 09:19
      +2

      You seem like a logical and analytical person, you are dead right about most of your observations. I'm making them and selling them directly to my customers for more than 13 years. I can fill in your missing gaps for you.

      "BUT it really doesnt tell you how it will be after a few months. The top layer can sag and its NOT so FIRM anymore, then when you complain, they can tell you its within spec."

      What you are talking about here is the poly-foam. its plastic with bubbles in it.This is the single reason that people have to spend thousands of dollars every few years, it's the reason the mattress shop has it's classic line "it's within 2 inches so it's normal wear".

      The thing is, it doesn't matter if it's within the shops spec, what actually matters here is if you can sleep/are-comfortable/aligned on the thing.

      Polyfoam has lost its structure and with it, it's ability to distribute pressure away from your pressure points long before any visual dipping has occurred. This fact made me so mad many years ago that I figured all of this stuff out. I went to the bottom of the rabbit hole. I built a factory.

      The answer to this is, make sure there is zero, or very minimal plastic foam. Follow those two rules and you will win. This is impossible in the retail store / and bed in a box. These are plastic shops.

      To make this very difficult for you, retailers and bed in a box will call there mattresses latex when in-fact, they are not. I open customers old mattresses and they may say latex in the outside, but inside, there might be a 1cm or 2 cm slice of latex, the other 80 or 90% is plastic foam. This gives the amazing product us mattress factory owners love, a very bad name.

      Hey, I get why they do it, plastic foam is extremely cheap, quick and easy to get, I can order 5 pieces of it and it'll turn up at my door in 2 days.

      Latex? I have to order a container, it takes 3 months, and I have to store it all somewhere, it's much more difficult to get latex to people.

      Here's my cheat sheet here,

      Find a mattress company that you can walk into the factory and see them making the mattresses. buy a pocket-spring latex mattress from those people. Make sure it's comfy.

      If you follow that rule, you will no longer face mattress dipping issues.

      Why is this? retailers and bedinabox are middle men. They use ads to get sales. they don't care if you do a return, they have systems designed to get around your complaints. They just see numbers, choose the cheaper foam, shave cost on the springs, make more money. These guys spend so much on advertising, they have no choice. Casper boxed mattress in usa went public and it was revealed that 30% of the sale price of the mattress, was digital ad spend, and that was 5 years ago when it was much cheaper.

      Independent Factories aren't marketers, the website looks like trash, they are busy making mattresses.The way they build their business is by word of mouth, reputation. So they'll add to the cost of the mattress to improve word of mouth. The better the product, the better they look after people, the more people will come back. The independant factory doesn't know how to compete in the marketing space with companies that are full-time marketers and they simply can't compete in that arena..

      The companies that are full time marketers don't understand the importance of using the higher density foams/fitting the customer to the mattress/using more wire in the springs.

      These companies are incentivised differently, and hence, behave differently.

      With mattresses, If the website looks like trash, you are on the right track. It means they have no marketing department and they rely on word of mouth.

      • RockyRaccoon on 13/06/2025 - 13:51

        Nice thoughts and I am sure that helps the OP.

        No criticism here, however in my case, Latex starts the itches big time, so I can't go that route.

        As you said, its being analytical, and its whats right for me.

        But like everything in bedding, its never the same for everyone.

        I am sure many here will get some great insights from your explanations.

  • shaybisc on 13/06/2025 - 08:27
    +5

    I am not convinced that lying on a mattress in a shop tells you anything about how comfortable that mattress will be after a night's sleep.

    "When allowed to test mattresses in a typical showroom experience, individuals appear to choose mattresses that do not optimize their sleep."

    https://www.rti.org/rti-press-publication/choosing-best-matt…

  • nomoneynoproblems on 13/06/2025 - 09:45

    Go to Melbourne mattress factory or any mattress builder. Forget the ones in a box or your bog Standard Harvey Norman types. They are a rort. A mattress builder is soooo much better value it’s not even funny.

    • buckethat on 13/06/2025 - 10:03

      Yeah might just do that this time round, Melbourne Mattress Factory is on my agenda tomorrow.

      • here for deals on 13/06/2025 - 13:23

        Also worth looking into Mattress Island. Bought a mattress from them a month ago. I know a month not too long in terms of mattress life. But we are happy so far.
        I looked at Mattress Island and Becks Bedding based on Karl's (Karl from AusBeds) suggestion. Becks bedding was a little out of my budget. Mattress Island had loads of videos on their website for my learning.

  • JIMB0 on 13/06/2025 - 10:42

    Cut off the foam layer from your existing mattress or if it is single sided simply flip it over. Then add a latex topper. The springs never sag, just the plastic foam on top of them. A 7.5cm latex topper is around $350.

  • Chewy2221 on 13/06/2025 - 10:44

    We were contemplating the purchase of a new mattress - old mattress was getting a bit hard. We opted to buy a mattress topper instead . A lot cheaper & a good night's sleep. Good luck with your consideration.

  • Drakesy on 13/06/2025 - 12:02

    Just to note, the mattress in a box approach tend to have poor edge support (could slide off the side).

  • Dejaar on 13/06/2025 - 12:46

    Go to an independent mattress maker and get one which is double sided rhen you flip it every 2 wks and it lasts 20yrs.

    • buckethat on 13/06/2025 - 12:54

      every 2 weeks is insane!

  • BoomTetrisForJeff on 03/10/2025 - 20:49

    What mattress did you end up getting?

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